Caroline Breese Hall

Caroline Breese Hall, a native of Brighton, Monroe County, New York, was born on April 2, 1939.[1][2] Her father, Burtis Burr Breese, was a pediatrician who was a professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry,[3] and the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society described him as "a pioneer in office-based clinical research and the development of the office throat culture for streptococci".[2] After obtaining a BA in chemistry at Wellesley College, she studied at her father's employer, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, where she obtained a medical degree in 1964.[4][1]

After obtaining her degrees, Hall moved to Yale University, where she completed a few fellowships and a residency.[4] In 1971, Hall became part of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) faculty, before becoming Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine there in 1986.[2]

An author of hundreds of scholarly articles,[2][5] Hall specialized in studying pediatric diseases caused by respiratory syncytial virus and human herpesvirus 6,[6][2] and Women In Academia Report described her as an expert in the area.[5] The Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society described Hall as a "major contributor to the discipline of pediatric infectious diseases, as teacher, mentor, researcher, and counselor".[2] In 1978, Hall and her father wrote a book called Beta Hemolytic Streptococcal Diseases.[3] Hall was one of the inaugural editorial board members of the academic journal Contemporary Pediatrics, remaining there until her death.[6] Hall was the fifth president of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.[2] Hall served on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and was the chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Infectious Diseases.[6]

In 1979, Hall became a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.[1] Hall was the Infectious Diseases Society of America's 1993 John F. Enders Lecturer.[7] In 1995, Hall became the first winner of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society Foundation's Distinguished Service Award.[8] Hall won the Pan American Society of Virology's 1997 Ed Nowakowski Senior Memorial Clinical Virology Award.[9] In 2002, Hall was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.[10] Hall won the 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics' Section on Infectious Diseases Award for Lifetime Contribution in Infectious Diseases Education.[11] Hall won the 2008 Robert M. Chanock Award for Lifetime Achievement.[4]

Hall and her husband William J. Hall, the Paul H. Fine Professor of Medicine at the URMC, had three children including URMC cardiology professor Burr W. Hall.[4]

Hall died at her home on December 10, 2012; she was 73.[4][5] In April 2014, the URMC held a festschrift symposium in Hall's honor.[2]